US stock markets ended last week with mixed dynamics. The Dow Jones rose by 1.05% during the week, driven by gains in non-technology and defense sectors. The S&P 500, however, declined by 0.63% and the Nasdaq by 1.62% due to a sharp drop in technology companies’ stocks.

Earlier, on Thursday, one day after the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut the refinancing rate, Wall Street briefly regained its upward momentum, with the S&P 500 index closing at an all-time high for the first time since October, indicating that a rotation rather than a retreat was taking place in the market. Investors were pulling funds out of overvalued artificial intelligence (AI) and technology stocks and reallocating them to financial and commodity sectors.

The following day, Wall Street again recorded a sharp decline amid ongoing concerns about an AI bubble and a sharp rise in US government bond yields. Technology stocks accounted for a large share of the decline. Investor caution was linked to the Federal Reserve’s statement that inflation in the country remains too high. This pushed bond yields higher and hit the shares of Broadcom, Oracle, and Nvidia.

After the reduction in the refinancing rate, global equity funds recorded their largest weekly inflow in the past five weeks, totaling n inflow of $12.9 billion. Money market funds saw outflows, bond funds recorded steady inflows for the 34th consecutive week, and gold funds experienced strong demand for the fifth consecutive week, indicating that investors remain active but cautious.

Last Friday, Rivian shares rose by nearly 18% after analysts positively assessed the electric vehicle maker’s decision to abandon Nvidia chips, develop its own autonomous driving chips, and expand the use of AI. The company’s next-generation R2 models, expected in 2026, will already use the new chips.

Last Thursday, Oracle shares fell by about 13% after the company presented pessimistic forecasts and announced that its spending on AI infrastructure would increase sharply. Oracle’s decline also led to a drop in Nvidia shares. This wave of selling highlighted growing concern in the markets that spending on AI significantly exceeds companies’ actual financial returns.

Also last Thursday, the price of gold reached its monthly high. The reduction in the refinancing rate weakened the US dollar and boosted demand for precious metals. Gold rose by 1.2% to about $4,280 per ounce.

One week after reaching a 2.5-year high on December 5, the Russian ruble depreciated last Wednesday, falling by about 0.8% against the US dollar and 1% against the Chinese yuan. The Central Bank of Russia reported that exporters sold less foreign currency in November than a month earlier, which weakened the ruble’s position.

Among companies with a market capitalization of at least $10 billion, the biggest gain last week was recorded by EchoStar Corporation, a provider of satellite communications and broadcasting solutions. The company’s shares rose by 30.94% over the week ($107.37 per share). Next was Confluent, Inc., which offers a real-time data stream processing platform, with a 29.86% increase ($30.05 per share). Rounding out this top three was Rocket Lab Corporation, engaged in rocket manufacturing and launches, with a 25.35% rise ($61.49 per share).

And the trio of large-cap companies with the biggest losses last week was led by Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd, which develops high-speed data transmission semiconductor solutions; its shares fell by 18.25% over the week ($143.91 per share). Next was Oklo Inc., which designs small modular nuclear reactors, with a 16.48% decline ($87.42 per share). This trio was completed by Vertiv Holdings Co, a supplier of data center power and cooling infrastructure, with a 14.68% drop ($161.27 per share).

On December 10, the US Federal Reserve cut its refinancing rate by 0.25 percentage points, making its third reduction this year. Also, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell stated that the system would slow the pace of future cuts. Current forecasts suggest that only one cut may be possible in 2026 and another in 2027, as inflation remains elevated.

In September, the US trade deficit dropped sharply to its lowest level in more than five years, as exports increased significantly while imports recorded only a slight rise. The trade deficit decreased by 10.9% to $52.8 billion.

Government bonds worth 5 billion drams, with a maturity date of October 5, 2026, were placed Monday in Armenia’s stock market. The public auction had four participants, and the total of bids submitted by them amounted to 15.6 billion drams. The weighted average price of the placed government bonds was 94.3701 drams, and the yield was 7.33 percent.

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